In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Winnipeg Sisler Spartans dumped the 9th-seeded Winnipeg Dakota Lancers 95-79. The Lancers (coached by Dean Favoni) included Braydon Ayotte, Matt Bonwick, Shayn Campbell, Said Dzafic, Hughie Glover, Izzy Kabashiki, Hayden Nellis, Nolan Parrington, Nudzein Pehlic, Graeme Riley, Rahul Sarangal, Josh Unrau and Brandon Vidal. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers crushed the 12th-seeded Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings 77-49. The Vikings (coached by Brett Nohr) included Dustin Asham, Michael Bright, Tyler Campbell, Cody Cherepuschak, Iain Cowie, Seth Dancel, Evan Didychuk, Johnson Duku, James Klassen, Jeremy Lucio, Andrew Nelson, Daven Pascal and Adrianne Passaporte. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded Winnipeg Sturgeon Heights Huskies upset the 6th-seeded Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions 107-101 in double overtime. The Lions (coached by Jonathan Wolfe) included Khalid Ali, Justin Bradbury, Esteban Gomez, Sulaiman Jalloh, Brennan Moore, Mitch Podworny, Ian Schaefer, Kyle Schille, Hayden Sitter and Kris Wilson. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Winnipeg John Taylor Pipers stunned the 7th-seeded Winnipeg Miles Macdonell Buckeyes 66-64. The Buckeyes (coached by Jeff Shaddock) included Gym Agravante, Daniel Chuckrey, Filip Djukic, Andrew Hector, Tim Ireland, Sawyer Jeffrey, Riley Kaita, Jayden McKoy, Joe Proulx, Collin Ralko, Josh Samaroo, Christian Seniuk, Zeke Stewart, Aaron Strempler and Samir Yusupov.
In the quarterfinals, the 8th-seeded Winnipeg Sisler Spartans continued the upset string by knocking off the top-seeded Winnipeg St. Paul’s Crusaders 81-76. The Crusaders (coached by Jeff Laping) included Justus Alleyn, Alec Bernier, Adam DeJonckeere, Trystan Dyce, Jamie Dzikowicz, Matt Goldberg, Eric Higham, Malik Irwin, Garrett Nieman, Jordan Pennycook, Thor Sigmar, Josh Sleva, Dustin Spiring and Bill Yaworsky.
The 5th-seeded Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers dumped the 4th-seeded Winnipeg Kildonan East Reivers 71-64. “Our (full-court) press really worked for us,” said Clippers coach Don Lamont. “We didn’t play well in the third quarter, but we were mentally tough in the fourth.” The Reivers (coached by Michael Page) included Ayob Ayob, Medu Bera, Mike Bounvoygxay, Arshdeep Gil, Abel Nayamori, Abby Okwuili, Tyler Roopchand, Dom Scarlett, Sonny Sylvester and Jeremy Taan.
The 11th-seeded Winnipeg Sturgeon Heights Huskies stunned the 3rd-seeded Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders 95-85. “It felt like a boxing match,” said Huskies coach Stephen Tackie, “with two guys that just kept on hitting each other.” Tackie said his team went into the game with “no doubt” it could compete against a squad that it had lost to in all three previous meetings. “I feel really good for the kids. This will help them remember that when something doesn’t go your way, you just keep playing for the love of the game and your teammates.” The Raiders (coached by Jon Lundgren) included Brendan Alexander, Casey Blanca, Jeremy Chee-A-Tow, Isaac Margolis, Colten Maycher, Roger Milne, Shaq Nichols, Daniel Phaneuf, Colson Reimer, Junior Sesay, Nathan Warburton and Dillion Zado.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Garden City Fighting Gophers clubbed the 10th-seeded Winnipeg John Taylor Pipers 91-74. The Pipers (coached by Spiros Kavadas) included Cole Armstrong, Luke Braconnier, Tyler Danino, Matt Dech, Josh Gandier, Ben Graham, Derek Jansen, Kuet Kuet, Sergey Lepskiy, Derrick McIntyre, Marcus Morgan, Dallas Murphy, Donovan Nernberg, Mike Seidu, James Wagner and Boris Zimbakov.
In the semis, the 8th-seeded Winnipeg Sisler Spartans stunned the 5th-seeded Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers 78-72. “I didn’t see this happening (at the start of the season),” said Sisler coach Scott Martin. “We have a young team, I thought we could improve and be competitive. I didn’t think we’d go this far… it feels great.” Sisler led 46-33 at the half and 60-51 after three quarters. But the Clippers rallied and with six minutes left in the game, a pair of free throws by guard Ivan Paskvalin brought the game to within a single point. But Paskvalin and forward Dikan Gjruic soon fouled out and the Spartans pulled out the win. Joseph Medrano led the Spartans with 29. “It’s the best feeling ever,” said post Tanner Smith, who scored 18 and nabbed 25 boards. “We were a bit nervous (in the fourth), but I knew we’d get it back and keep going.” Spartans coach Scott Marin said Denzel Solven “was outstanding. He’s a rebounding, shot blocking machine. He doesn’t always score, but rebounding and shot blocking has been pretty consistent all year.”
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Garden City Fighting Gophers thrashed the 11th-seeded Winnipeg Sturgeon Heights Huskies 78-62. Grade 11 guard Jared Kashton came off the bench to knock down a three-pointer for the Gophers as time expired in the third quarter and then swished two more early in the fourth to turn a 60-55 lead over the Huskies into a 66-55 advantage. “That was pretty big,” Kashton said. “They were coming back on us a bit, and I just made a little momentum swing there and helped start us in the next quarter. The first thing we do is try to get inside, but when they collapse on Tynan (Reyes), because you have to double him, we’re open for the three. It just makes my job easier.” Tynan Reyes paced the Gophers with 26. Josh Magpantay had 14 points for the Gophers, with Jayel Masangkay adding 11. Ryan led the Huskies with 19. Chris Demoleon-Bartaley added 18. Penner was pleased to see Kashton get rewarded. “I talked to him earlier this week and said, ‘Keep ready, because at some point we’re gonna need you.’ Then Sturgeon went to zone, and he hit three threes. That was probably the biggest turning point in the game. … It was a really tough game, we knew it would be.”
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Winnipeg Garden City Fighting Gophers defeated the 8th-seeded Winnipeg Sisler Spartans 87-84 to capture their second consecutive title. The Spartans led by as many as 24 in the first half and by 59-39 at the half but the Gophers stormed back. “They shot it so well the first half, I didn’t think they could it shoot it that well (all game) but we had to start posturing them, denying their passes,” said Garden City coach Phil Penner. “That’s probably one of the best provincial finals I’ve ever seen. For us to be down 20 and then come back is incredible.” Tournament MVP Tynan Reyes, who scored 26, called it “unreal. (Coach Phil Penner) gave us a goal at half and that was to bring it within 15 in the first five minutes and we accomplished that. And then he told us to bring it by the fourth quarter to at least 10 and they’re gonna start struggling and we would have them. That plan worked. He planned it out perfectly.” Josh Magpantay paced the Gophers with 28. With the Gophers down by a single point and under a minute left to play, Magpantay took a pass from Malik Coleman and buried a three-point shot, his sixth of the game to give the Gophers an 86-84 lead. “I kinda just let it go,” Magpantay said. “My buddy Malik just kind of kicked it out to me, I just let it go.” Byron Oduca added 10. The Spartans got good looks in the final minute but were unable to hit them. “We started the year a pretty average team and, by the end, we proved we were probably the most improved team over the course of the year,” Sisler coach Scott Martin said. “And that’s just a tribute to the guys, how hard they worked throughout the year and how much time and effort they put in to get better. … I knew Garden City would make a comeback, they’re too good. I was kind of hoping we’d handle the end a little better, but that’s the way it goes sometimes… one shot here, one missed shot there is the difference in the game.” Joseph Medrano paced the Spartans with 31. Denzel Soliven, who later received the player’s choice award for the tournament, added 22. In the fourth quarter, both squads constantly hit improbable shots. “Everything went down today,” Reyes said. “That’s just sometimes how the game goes.” Penner said the Spartans “had a great run and they were a great opponent for us. I thought they did a phenomenal job. They work so hard and they’re an excellent team.” Magpantay said “it feels even better the second time around,” said elated Garden City senior — and last year’s tournament MVP — Josh Magpantay, who led the Gophers with 27 points. “Hard work pays off.”
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Sturgeon Heights Huskies: Chris Demoleon-Bartaley, Nick Fletcher, Dylan Jazen, Matt Jonsson, Abe Kanu, Khalil Lakay, Nico Larilla, Ernest Mariita, Kris Rivet, Ryan Rycroft, Will Switzer, Roan VanEerd, Steve Williamson, coach Stephen Tackie
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers: Robbie Cruz, Nicolas Dacquisto, Mike Doyle, Anthony Dyck, Dikan Guric, Liam Haime, Aidan Padgett-Reimer, Ivan Paskvalin, Jeremy Patterson, Clement Sackey, Marco Valera, Borzah Yankey, coach Don Lamont
The silver medalist Winnipeg Sisler Spartans: Aaron Balingit, Ketan Bansal, Drew Dobinsky, Danny Habtegebreal, Ronnil Hipolito, Derrick Hrabarchuck, Devyn Hrechkosy, Ivan Lumbara, Joseph Medrano, C.J. Ordonez, Josh de los Reyes, Tim Robles, Carlo Romero, Tanner Smith, Denzel Solven, coach Scott Martin; assistant B.J. Lopez; assistant Varinder Brar; assistant Bernard Kankam
The gold medalist Winnipeg Garden City Fighting Gophers: Abel Bekele, Arel Cansino, Malik Coleman, Mike Corrigan, Ryan Hawley, Jared Kashton, Josh Magpantay, Jayel Masangkay, Byron Oduca, Justin Pablo, Tynan Reyes, Chaymaine Roberts, Jowell Shuffler, coach Phil Penner